Sweeter Than Pain
by Lashworthe
Summary: When strange magical creatures threaten to bring Earth to the edge of destruction, the Avengers have no choice but to turn to the one person least likely to save it, Loki. There is more to Loki's motivation than it seems, and when a magical spell backfires and ties Tony Stark to Loki, the billionaire finds himself in a twisted world that he couldn't have imagined. Graphic Violence
1. The Bargain

"Soooo…that went well." Tony drummed his fingers on the conference room table.

"Stark, if I want your opinion, I will ask for it." Fury glared, "Now, would someone care to tell me what the hell happened out there?"

"I don't know." Natasha spoke up first.

"Sir, I've never fought anything like that." Steve hesitantly let go of his arm, still not use to how quickly his wounds healed.

"They were...some kind of dog creature." Banner spoke softly. He was pacing back and forth in front of the windows, calming his nerves. He'd escaped injuries for the most part, though his head ached, as it always seemed to after letting the other guy out. He rubbed his temples, "Nothing seemed to work on them."

"And even if they went down, they were right back up again. Even when they got pulverized, they still sprang back." Clint sat still, arm bound tightly in a sling.

"So what? We're being attacked by a pack of stray dogs?" Fury narrowed his eyes, "You all withstood an alien invasion, and this is stopping you?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Can we be done?"

"Not until we've got an answer about what is happening here. Those things are still running free! Just because they retreated for now doesn't mean they won't be back."

"But why did they retreat?" Natasha leaned back in her seat, adjusting her position as the chair hit on bruises along her back. "They had the advantage."

"A trial run," Tony shook his head, "Son of a bitch, that was just the warm up to see what we're made of."

"Thor, you're being awfully quiet," Steve glanced at his side, "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Oh please, point break? Hurt? Like that would ever-"

"I recognize those creatures." Thor stood up, "From legends and myths."

"...and what are they?" Banner glanced nervously to the door.

"...I have heard them called the Abatu. They...They are not of any realm I know."

Steve glanced around the room, seeing Tony already playing on his phone. "A name doesn't help us destroy them Thor. Do you know anything else? Anything?"

"I do not know much on them." Thor took a deep breath, "Loki is the one who first told me about them."

"Loki?"

The room went suddenly stiff, and Banner took an instinctive step towards the door.

"Are you saying he has something to do with this?" Fury turned his full gaze to Thor.

He shook his head, "Loki is in Asgardian prison, his powers stripped from him. He could not summon anything, let alone transport these creatures to Midgard. This is not Loki's doing." He hesitated, "But...he could perhaps give us answers."

"We are not negotiating with a criminal." Clint's fingers curled into his fist.

"I understand your worries friends, but, these creatures, they are something that he would be familiar with. He could advise us. He is eager to repent for the harm he has caused."

Steve sighed, "Thor, we just can't trust him."

"Let me speak with him. He will listen to reason."

"Yeah, cause that went really last time someone tried to reason with him." Tony muttered under his breath.

"Please, give me this chance. Loki will know about these Abatu; his information could aid us. We do not have the time to waste."

"He is right. Those things could be back any time." Steve said after several long moments.

Banner rubbed the bridge of his nose, "If we have to go to Loki for help, we are in worse shape than I thought."

"You've got one day Thor." Fury finally said.

Thor nodded, "You have my word. I will return with aid."

"Good luck there point break." Tony stood up and slapped Thor's back, "Make sure Loki knows how much we all just miss him terribly."

Thor frowned, but didn't respond before he thundered from the room.

"...Alright, can we all go pass out now? I don't know about you guys, but my everything hurts." Tony stretched, grimacing as his back popped, and the bruises that swelled against his abdomen stung even more.

"No one is to leave the base until Thor returns. Am I clear?"

Everyone slowly stood.

Steve nodded, "We will meet back here as soon as Thor returns."

Thunder boomed outside the base. Fury looked them all over before leaving the room.

"Everyone get some rest, that fight really took a lot of us." Steve closed up the room behind everyone. "Guest rooms are-"

"Yeah, yeah, we got it. Aye, aye." Tony dismissively waved his hand as he headed down the hallway towards his own room. Once Tony was in his small Shield-appointed room, he pulled his phone back out. "Jarvis, access remote camera 17. Let's see what Asgard looks like." he grinned as the phone's screen slowly flickered to life.

Rainbow colors flickered across the screen, and Tony shook the phone, but when the rainbow started to move and he could see the swish and flick of Thor's cape he settled back down.

"I'll be damned... it's a fucking rainbow. Thor lives on a rainbow." Tony settled into his chair, expanding the feed to a holographic full screen floating above his bed.

The rainbow ground and world rushed by with a low rumble, and in a few flashes of color and jerking of the camera that nearly made Tony sick, Thor came to a stop again.

"Father." Thor's voice was calm, "I must speak with Loki."

"The creatures attacking Midgard?" A deeper voice aged with time answered, and Tony cursed the little video bug being on Thor's back so he couldn't see who was speaking.

"You know? …Of course you do. Yes, I believe the Abatu are attacking Midgard. Do you know what is summoning them?"

The other man hmmed, "It is something between worlds. Something in the void where not even Heimdell's eyes can see."

"I believe Loki needs to come to Midgard with me father. My allies, they fight valiantly, but I fear this battle will be lost if we cannot find the source of this dark magic."

"Thor, Loki is dangerous, to bring him back to Midg-"

"We can bargain with him. Allow him a piece of his power back to him when he rids Midgard of this new trouble."

"Bargain with Loki? That is a contract writ in blood and chaos. You would do as well to try to keep the wind captured Thor, you know that as well as I." He sighed heavily, "And what then? With his powers restored what is to stop him?" The man sighed, "Thor, I would not put you in the position to have to fell your brother."

"I do not have a brother any longer."

"Family runs deeper than blood Thor. You and Loki will always be brothers whether you claim it or not. Your fates are tied together at the very roots of Yggdrasil and there is nothing that can break that thread." the man spoke softly, "I will let you choose the path to take with this Thor. Prove yourself. You know where Loki's cell is; the guards will not stop you."

"Thank you Father." Thor turned to leave and Tony finally got a glimpse of the war and time ravaged man sitting on a golden throne.

The man held up a hand, "And Thor?"

"Yes father?"

"Speak with your mother before you decide. She wishes to see you."

"I will," Thor promised before walking away from the man on the throne.

"Thor's dad is a god version of Fury…" Tony muttered, "Fucking eye patches…" he shook his head, "I swear if his mother looks like Hill…"

He pushed a notification that Pepper was calling off the screen, "Jarvis ignore until video feed is over."

"Are you certain sir?"

"Yes Jarvis." He had to look away through the cascade of colors and the jerking of the camera clinging to Thor's cape, closing his eyes until he heard a soft knock and then a woman's voice. Slender arms wrapped around Thor, blocking the camera and Tony held his breath that his little camera bug would stay in place. He let out a long sigh when she let go of Thor and stepped back. "I did not think you would be home so soon."

"There is trouble on Midgard."

"Oh? Did you come to your father for aid?"

Thor coughed, "I spoke with father, but I cam here for Loki."

Tony heard the woman take in a sharp breath, "Thor, the sentencing is already done. You cannot-"

"I do not come to end him," Thor's tone was softer than Tony had ever heard it before.

"I know what Loki has done is…reprehensible, but he is your brother."

"No he is not."

Her voice dropped, "He is my son. No matter his crimes, no matter the blood that runs in his veins, he is my son just as you are my son during the good and the bad."

"He has attempted genocide of the Jotuns, and brought death to Midgard." Thor's words sounded rehearsed and Tony suddenly wondered how many times Thor had, had to tell himself that.

"Do you remember when you were young and your arm was caught by a bilgesnipe's horn?"

Thor sighed, "I do recall it mother, and Loki helped aid me, saved my life. I remember, but Loki is no longer that child, he is a mons-"

"He drew the poison from your wound, and now, we must draw the poison from him. Something poisons his mind. Since you were sent to Midgard, there is something twisted that has entwined itself in his heart. Something darker and colder than any Jotun winter."

The cape shifted, and Thor turned for the door. "Mother, I do not intend to bring harm to Loki, I seek his aid, but I do not think what is between us can be healed."

The beautiful blonde woman appeared on Tony's screen, and sagged into an old chair with a heavy sigh. "Be safe my son… and keep your brother safe."

Thor didn't respond, and the camera bounced wildly through various colored halls and doorways. For a moment, Tony felt guilty about intruding on this, on Thor's private life, but Loki was dangerous, and the more intel he had, the better in dealing with the crazed god.

He looked up when Thor's cape stopped moving, and the camera fell silent, nothing but a stone wall facing the camera.

And then that familiar voice that still haunted his dreams from time to time cracked the silence. "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help."

Tony was almost grateful the backwards-facing camera did not pick up the image of the lanky man. He wasn't sure he was ready to see that again, the face of the man who had brought war to his front door.

"You know why I come to you?"

"Because your beloved Midgard is burning and you cannot stop it."

The camera shifted and Tony could almost taste Thor's unease. "The Abatu are appearing."

"Ah, and that is outside of your powers is it not?" Tony could hear the smirk in Loki's voice, "Why would I aid you when all I have to do to watch your precious Earth burn is nothing?"

"In exchange for your aid, your powers will be returned to you."

"My powers fully restored?"

"…half restored."

"Hm…a pity that a half-cast spell does no harm."

"Will you accept this offer?"

"All of my powers returned. I can fight nothing without my full strength."

"…All of them restored." Thor said slowly, "Once you have proved yourself."

Loki chuckled, "Are you prepared to pay that price?"

"No!" Tony yelled at the screen.

"Your powers will only be restored once the threat to Midgard is resolved. Until then you will have no offensive powers and not be able to inflict harm on any living creature."

"Ah, now the mighty Thor tries to tighten the reigns." Loki mused, "Pain is so very delicate …Far too delicate for such broad restrictions. No offensive skills unless I am provoked or defending myself. That is fair, is it not?"

Thor slowly nodded, "But you will not kill any Midgardians."

"I will not use magic to harm a soul."

"…You agree to these terms then?" Thor shifted again.

"Do you agree to my terms?"

Thor sighed softly, "Yes. When you exit the cell the deal will be done. We will travel to the bifrost, and return to Midgard…. There is one more thing." He turned his back to the cell, and Tony pushed from the screen before looking again. The slim, pale devil was leaning casually against the wall of his glass-enclosed cell, legs stretched out in front of him. His hair was longer, and greasy, and his clothes were plain, no overly complicated armor and leather padding. There was a soft click and the glass began to slide down into the floor. Tony was transfixed by Loki. He didn't look like the same man who had tried to take over Earth. He was so… thin, almost transparently pale. He looked like something from a hospital ward, not a crazy homicidal maniac.

"You should know that when you betray me, I will kill you." Thor kept his voice steady.

Tony leaned closer to the screen as too bright green eyes flickered up straight into Tony's camera. Something like relief flickered briefly over Loki's features before a slow Cheshire smile curved his lips.

"When do we start?"

The image faded until there was nothing but static over a flickering black abyss.

And if anyone is on tumblr, you can follow me! Username judyblackcloud


	2. Finger Tips

Tony stared at the blank screen for several long moments before taking a deep breath and getting up. "Jarvis, call Rogers."

"Yes sir."

The phone rang three times before Steve picked up, "Tony?"

"Hey, I think that Point Break's gonna be back with his brother soon."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Just a hunch." Tony said after a moment, "I mean, it's looking a little cloudy, right?" Tony took a chance, guessing that the sky had to be darkening, preparing to storm and rain down the thunder god with his trickster sidekick.

He could practically hear Steve frowning, "Yeah, I suppose it is a little cloudy. You really think Thor is coming back with Loki? We need to get a containment area ready. We can't just let Loki into the populace. There would be mass panic if someone saw him. New York is still—"

"Yeah, I know." Tony cleared his throat past the sudden dryness that seemed to happen any time anyone mentioned New York. "I'm sure Fury can rig up another floating glass prison. Hell, he probably already has."

"...He actually has."

Tony grinned, "Great, so we've got a room for tall, dark and loony."

He briefly flashed to that too thin face of Loki leaving the prison cell, but shook the thought away, "Just keep an eye out for some lightning stuff. I'm tracking for the energy spikes associated with the Rosenberg bridge. The second I get something I'll send you the data and fly that way."

"Do you think it's safe for Loki to be back here on Earth?" Steve asked. "I know these dogs are attacking but-"

"Look, I don't like it. Fighting one bad blast of voodoo with another sounds like a surefire way to screw things up to me, but we're gonna have to work with Thor on this, and hope he can keep a handle on Loki this time around. I bet Asgardian prison has mellowed him out a bit."

"Or made him worse than ever," Steve sighed, "Help me keep close tabs on him. We can't let him pull the wool over our eyes and mess this up."

"Don't worry Rogers. I'll have Jarvis keep tabs on him, and we can get surveillance set up in whatever room he ends up living in. He won't be able to sneeze without us knowing about it." Tony tried to sound confident, but truth of the matter was it made him beyond nervous that Loki would be here.

He knew that it didn't matter if they knew every move Loki made, that didn't mean they would ever guess what Loki's game was or what he was playing at. Loki played his cards tight by waving them around like a madman, and trying to predict what a madman would do next was something Tony had never mastered. He knew it was just a matter of time before Loki sent the house of cards falling all around them again, but he wanted to reassure Steve. Crazy or not, Loki was their best bet at getting at whatever was behind these demon dogs that were appearing all over Earth. People were starting to talk about end times, and the entire globe seemed on edge, this needed to be resolved before someone in power did something very stupid.

"We've beaten Loki before, just need to poke Banner a bit, and I'm sure we won't have a single problem with our favorite psychopath."

Steve sighed heavily, "I guess we do need to get Banner ready for this. We can't have another incident on the hellicarrier. A lot of people died the last time that happened."

Tony rubbed his temples, "Yeah, I know. Look, I can build a containment unit here at the tower. We can keep those two separated except for in wide-open spaces. That works, yeah?"

"I guess so Tony, but you really want to keep Loki close to you?"

"I'll be fine. I can summon the suit to me now, he won't be able to take me off guard, and with my tech, I can get scans of him, see with hocus pocus he's casting. That way if he starts doing anything weird, we can nip it in the bud. It'll be fine, scout's honor."

Steve sighed, "I don't like it, but I think you're right. We need to keep Loki away from as many people as possible and where we can keep a close eye on him. Otherwise, he might just disappear, and we don't have time for another game of hide and go seek with him."

"Well, I'll get a room ready for him here." Tony said, "Just keep an eye out. I'll talk to you later." He hung up, and set to work with Jarvis, getting a new containment area set up.

Almost an hour later, Jarvis flashed a spike of energy across the screen. "Sir, I believe a bridge is about to form."

The coordinates appeared on the screen. "Suit me up and let Rogers know." As soon as the faceplate clanked into place, he headed out to the balcony and took to the sky as clouds gathered overhead and lightning flickered over the clouds.

Steve buzzed in over the suit's interface, "You heading out with the team?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I've got Natasha and Clint loaded up, we're coming in by jet."

"No Banner?"

"He wanted to stay behind and run some scans on the landing."

Tony shook his head, "Well hopefully, we'll be back out here in a flash. Hey, I see you. I'm pulling up beside you all now."

"See you down below." Steve disconnected the call as the jet whisked by, Tony flying close to it, but landing a safe distance away as the jet eased to the ground.

"Banner's saying this is the most likely area." Steve called over the din of thunder.

Natasha and Clint scanned the area, watching and categorizing everything. Clint's hands were light on his bow, and Natasha's fingers grazed over her guns.

"Energy's spiking, think everyone ought to take a step back." Tony called as the sky grew into a mass of dark, whirling clouds.

Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Tony took shelter back inside the jet, watching through the narrow windows as a bolt of light slammed into the ground, and two dark shadows appeared on the ground. Tony waited until the energy levels dropped before getting back outside, Natasha and Steve were at his side, weapons at the ready while Clint stayed towards the back, bow trained on the thinner of the two shadows.

"Friends. I return." Thor slowly got up to his feet, Loki stayed on his knees at Thor's side, head down. Tony noted that his armor was much thinner than the last time he was on Earth.

"Loki." The word was muttered like a curse under Clint's breath. His muscles tensed, fingers drawing back, and ready to fire.

"Hello again hawk." Loki slowly brought his face up, and then stood.

Thor glanced between Loki, and his mortal allies. "Loki is here to aid us. He will bring no harm to anyone but our enemies."

"Forgive me if I find that a bit hard to believe." Clint growled faintly.

Loki smirked faintly as he looked around the area. Tony had Jarvis center in on Loki, measuring every possible reading and trying to compare it to the last saved file of Loki's scans from when he was held captive by Shield. Body temperature was the same, freakishly low, and the energy fields around him swirled and spiked in strange patterns that Tony had never seen before. It was fascinating to watch, and he noted that these energy patterns didn't spike as high as the original ones from Shield, they were actually only at about a third of the power, and on a totally different, much lower wavelength. Whatever sort of bind Thor had put in place on his powers seemed to be doing the trick.

"Well, now that these lovely pleasantries are out of the way, we all really should be going. I've got a nice little room already put together for you reindeer games."

Loki looked towards Tony, face impassive. "Well, I believe you will have some issues to handle here first." He glanced away from the jet and towards the horizon.

Tony frowned, "Jarvis, what's out there?"

"Sir, that appears to be a group of the creatures called the Abatu approaching at high speed."

"Dammit, get ready boys and girls, the party's here." Tony took to the air to try to head them off.

Steve grabbed his shield and Thor began spinning his hammer, gathering the clouds overhead. Clint loaded up his bow, and beside him, sparks flew from Natasha's wrists, ready for a fight. Loki however, stayed exactly where he was, watching the approaching of the screaming demon dogs.

"Thor, can you funnel them in?" Steve called.

Thor nodded, lightning rained down from the sky.

The dogs screamed but kept bounding forward. Steve lurched towards them, slamming his shield into the head of the closest creature. It whimpered and hit the ground hard but was back up in just a few seconds, jaws latching onto Steve's forearm. Clint fired an arrow into the dog's back; it went limp as two more rose up to take its place. Natasha was taking down one of the dogs; hands around its throat as it snarled wildly beneath her while her built in electrical shock devices fried its skin, and it finally fell silent.

Tony flew overhead, several of the beasts bounding after him; Tony fired at them as they took chase, "Just like a regular dog chasing cars." He banked hard, groaning when the dogs took it with ease.

One repulsor blast sent a dog slamming into a bolt of lightning Thor was crashing down, but another dog leapt up onto the jet, and then soared high enough to grab onto Tony's boot and start pulling him to earth. He kicked, but the unnaturally sharp fangs pierced into the repulsor, crunching through metal. The boot spark and finally lost power. He started easing down towards the ground as the three repulsors worked over time. He cut the power to all the repulsors, and let himself crash to the ground, using the force of his landing to snap its neck.

In an instant another one was on Tony's back, dragging him flat to the ground as it clawed frantically at his armor. He could hear metal screeching and peeling back, and sighed with relief when he felt the dog cry out and fall off his back.

"We can't keep this up." Tony muttered as Steve grabbed Tony's arm, and pulled him to his feet.

"We can't let them just run wild. There are towns not far from here!" Steve growled, "Thor, keep them contained to this area!"

"I wasn't going to say let's just run off and let them have at." Tony rolled his eyes, "Watch your twelve o'clock!"

Steve turned just in time to deflect the leaping dog with his shield. The dog crashed to the ground, skidding over the dirt before getting back to its feet and circling around Steve and Tony. There was a sharp, strangled yelp from one of the other dogs behind Tony's back and he chanced looking towards the sound, and finding Loki, standing tall, blood dripping down his arm, his hands firmly around the throat of one of the animals, it was dripping shadow onto the ground as it screamed and struggled to get out of Loki's grasp. He tightened his grip until the animal fell silent. When another dog attacked, he battered it with the corpse of its ally, and then sank upon it with the fury of a wild beast.

Tony looked away and tried to focus on his own fights as more dogs came and surrounded him, tearing at his suit, ripping off chunks of metal and electrical circuits. The sheer jaw strength was frightening, and Tony got first-hand experience when one sank its teeth straight into his now bared arm, and ripped into the skin. He grabbed at the back of its neck with his free hand, trying to throw the beast off but it held tight, blood pooling in its mouth and dribbling to the ground. He felt himself falling to a knee as the dog pulled at his arm, and he was about to hit the ground.

Loki's pale hands sank around either side of the beast's jaws, thin fingers not reacting to the jagged teeth that ripped into his skin. There was a terrible cracking, wet sound and the dog screamed before Loki threw the body to the ground.

"Uh...thanks there reindeer games."

Loki didn't acknowledge him, watching as the dogs began to back all together until the ground turned dark beneath their feet and they disappeared like shadows in the noonday sun. Soon all that was left was blood, not even the bodies of the slain dogs lingered.

"Everyone alright?" Steve called after a moment.

"Yeah. Think I'll live. Maybe just turn into a werewolf or something." Tony tried to joke over the throbbing pain of his arm.

Natasha wordlessly went to Tony's side and applied a tourniquet, tightening it to stop the flow of blood from the vicious bite wound.

Tony took a few deep breaths, "Well, looks like we won, right?"

"If you call the damn things running off, a win." Clint grunted from the ground, Steve stood over him, trying to tend to several claw marks that ran over Clint's forearms and throat.

"We need to get back to base so you all can be treated." Steve said, looking at Natasha, "Can Tony move?"

"I can move fine!" Tony snapped.

Steve sighed, "You're bleeding. You and Clint both are bleeding pretty badly."

"I can help." Loki stepped forward, gore from the dogs dripped down his pale arms. He brought a finger to his lips and licked it clean before wiping the rest on his thin armor.

"Uh yeah. No. That's not happening." Tony shook his head, the movement left him dizzy and he flopped his head back onto the ground.

Thor looked over his brother, then to the men on the ground, "Loki has no offensive magic at his disposal, but he can use magic to mend bone and flesh. I have seen him use it on soldiers in Asgard."

Steve frowned, looking at Loki, then to Clint. The wound on Clint's neck was bleeding more, oozing through the pressure Steve was trying to put on it.

Natasha looked at Steve, her eyes hard before she turned to Loki. "Do it. But one wrong step…"

Loki's lips slowly curved into a serpent smile as he nodded and approached Clint, pulling Steve's hands away and putting his hands over the wounds on Clint's neck. A dark green spark began travelling over Clint's body, and the archer's back arched as the assassin screamed. The sound froze the blood in Tony's veins. He'd never heard Clint scream like that. Hell, he'd never heard more than a grunt of pain from Clint.

Tony stared, "What the hell did you-"

"There." Loki cut him off, pulling his hands away, and leaving Clint limp, unconscious, but wound free on the ground.

"And now, your turn Stark." Loki turned towards Tony.

Tony kicked his feet, trying to push away, but Loki grabbed his bare wrist before he could get very far.

A thousand pinpricks of pain and cold ripped over his body, and Tony could vaguely hear himself screaming in the distance. The ripping cold speared through his body, circling closer and closer to the reactor. He could feel himself trying to scream, trying to stop it, but the green sparks flickered up to his reactor, and the world went dark.

It wasn't a darkness like passing out, that was something Tony was familiar with. No, this was a darkness that hurt, that ripped him to shreds and then put him together backwards. The darkness screamed, and howled at Tony, tangible, and hungry. There was a pinprick of light, and Tony scrambled back towards it, clawing desperately to get away from the darkness consuming him from the inside out.

He sat up gasping for air, and looking around for a fight. The hospital room was simple, Steve sitting at his side, sketching in a small notebook. "Hey. Welcome back." Steve offered a faint smile, "Are you okay?"

"Where is the little devil, I'll wring his neck myself. I'll-"

"Loki's next door. He hasn't woken up since he healed you." Steve spoke quickly, "You both started screaming and then you both passed out."

Tony frowned, "Clint?"

Steve shook his head, "Clint's been up since then. He came to just after you two passed out."

"...Did he say anything about what happened when Loki healed him?"

Steve frowned, "No. Well, he said it felt like he'd broken every bone in his body all at once."

"No...darkness?"

"...No? Not that he mentioned?" Steve leaned forward, "Why?"

Tony licked his lips, "I think something went wrong with Loki's magic and my tech." He looked at his arm where the dog's teeth marks were only faded marks, barely a reminder. "When he was...with the...glowstick...it didn't work on me." He tapped on his reactor. "Guess he forgot about it."

Steve frowned, "I guess so. We'll have to remember that in the future. You sure you're okay?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine." He laid back against his pillow.

"Well, let me talk to the doc, and see if maybe we can get you out of here."

"Thanks." He managed a smile as Steve left the room. He took a deep breath, and shuddered.

He could still feel that creeping darkness lurking under his skin, reaching out and threatening to pull him back in. He looked down at his reactor. It didn't look different, no strange colors, no strange sounds or noises, but somehow it felt heavier, darker. He took a deep breath, and laid back into the pillows. Just another nightmare, that was all that screaming darkness had been, nothing more than what tormented him every night.

He rolled over, and carefully got out of the bed, testing his balance, glad to find everything was in one piece and he easily could pace around the room. He peered out into the hallway, spotting Steve and Thor in the hallway talking in, what must have seemed like hushed voices for them, but whispering was not Thor's strong suit.

"Loki does not stir. He does not appear injured, but I cannot rouse him. I fear the man of iron's metal trinket has interfered with Loki's magic, and left him injured."

Tony frowned, and looked towards the door Thor was motioning to. He waited for the blondes to both be looking away before he crept to the room, and slid inside.

It was strange seeing Loki still, and asleep in a bed. Strange to see him looking so very...human. His breathing was labored, and his hands curled into fists, wrapped up in the sheets and tugging at them. His sharp eyebrows were drawn downwards, lips sealed tightly together.

Tony stepped closer, "Hey. Reindeer Games."

No response.

He took another step, "Hey. Wake up." He clapped his hands.

No response.

He sighed, and went to grab Loki's shoulder, "Hey, look sleeping beaut-" The instant his hand touched Loki's shoulder, the screaming darkness slammed into him full force, devouring him, and the room around him disappeared as the pain consumed everything else. He couldn't pinpoint what hurt exactly, or even begin to describe the pain. He only knew that pain had become a part of his skin, stitched along the seams of his body and crawling out through his pores. He couldn't breath and choked for air. Somewhere in the darkness, he heard someone else screaming, and a single distinctive pain shot through each finger joint one by one. He swore he could feel the skin bubbling, burning, melting off his body.

There was a sharp gasp, then a burst of dark green that spiraled and narrowed until Tony realized he was staring into the too green center of Loki's eyes.

He stumbled backwards, "What the hell was that?"

"Why are you in my chambers?" Loki sat up.

"Jesus, I was just making sure you were still alive!" Tony snapped.

"You have your answer. Now get out."

Tony swallowed, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Loki narrowed his eyes, "What did you see?"

"...I didn't see anything, just..." he shook his head, "Nevermind. Glad you're okay there hot stuff. Just uh... try not to pass out on the field again, alright?"

Loki kept his eyes focused on Tony as the man backed from the room, running into Thor on his escape. Thor looked over Tony's head.

"Loki, you wake."

"Yes." He turned to let his feet hit the floor and slowly stood.

"What ails you?"

"Nothing. I have not used my magic for healing in many years, I simply had forgotten how taxing it can be." He held his hands out and slowly flexed his fingers one by one. Tony watched Loki's lips move, and he realized the god was counting, checking that each finger was still there. Tony glanced down at his own hands.

"I am glad you are well. Captain Rogers wishes for us to all gather to discuss what is known about the Abatu. You will join us."

"I will meet you there shortly. I need a moment." Loki brought his hands to his side, flexing his fingers out, then curling them back into fists. "A moment alone." He amended.

Steve frowned faintly, but Thor nodded, "We will be in the hallway when you are ready." He ushered Steve and Tony out of the room, and shut the door behind them.

Tony could hear Steve and Thor talking, but he was focused on watching Loki through the small glass window in the door.

Loki stayed perfectly still, staring down at his hands, and taking slow deep breathes as he counted to ten over and over and over again.


End file.
